Clothes-rack.



PATENTED AUG. 23, 1904.

J. H. HARRELL. CLOTHES RACK.

APPLICATION rum) 001MB, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

' Patented August 23, 1904.

,UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. HARRELL, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

CLOTH ES-RACK.

I SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 768,363, dated August 23, 1904.

Application filed October 8, 1903.

To all whom, it -ma 1 ,concern:

Be it known that '1, JOHN H. HARRELL,acitizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King, State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Racks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to clothes-racks, and more particularly to the class of folding clothes-racks, the object of the invention. being to provide a construction wherein the rack when not in use will be concealed within a casing which may form a portion of any one of a number of articles of furniture, the rack being so arranged that it may be readily drawn from the casing when it is to be used and may be folded and passed into the casing when not in use.

The invafttion consists of a post or rod having arms or hooks pivoted in recesses or chambers so as to fold into them when the post or rod is lowered telescopically into an outside sheath or case and which arms or hooks fall outwardly to a horizontal position by gravity when the post or rod is raised vertically from a socket or sheath. In the present application I have shown the invention embodied in a structure wherein the post of a bedstead forms the sheath or casing.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is an elevation showing a portion of the bedstead equipped with a rack embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the bed-post with the arms retracted or folded. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the supplemental or rack post with the arms unfolded. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a portion of the bedstead embodying a post 5, which may be a post of either the headboard or the footboard and which for convenience of explanation will be referred to as part of or connected to a head 6.

Formed longitudinally of the post 5 and Serial No. 176,216. (No model.)

opening through the upper end thereof is an elongated socket 7 which is angular in crosssection and which has disposed therein the slidable rack-post 8, said rack-post being fitted with sufiicient snugness to permit of free sliding movement, while preventing rotation. To limit sliding movement of the rack-post from the bed-post 5, a pin 9 is provided and engages in a slot 10, formed longitudinally of the rack-post and terminatingshort of the ends of the latter When the rack-post is raised to its limit, the lower end wall of this groove or channel strikes the pin and upward movement of the rack-post is arrested. To prevent downward movement of the rack-post when the rack is in use, a spring-finger is provided and consists of a spring-plate 11, the upper end of which is secured in a recess in the face of the rack-post, while the lower end is bent inwardly at right angles and engages in a recess formed also in the post 8. The lower end portion of the spring-finger projects normally from the face of the rack-post, so that it rests upon the upper end of the post 5, and when the rack-post is to be lowered the springfinger is first pressed rearwardly, so that it passes into the rack-post and moves with it into the socket of the post 5.

In the supplemental or rack post 8 are formed a plurality of grooves or channels 12, and at the lower end of each of these'channels is pivoted the enlarged inner end or head of a rack-arm 13. These rack-arms engage 12, and when the arms are in horizontal positions the heads rest against the upper walls of the recesses and hold the outer ends of the arms against downward movement. When the outer ends of the arms are swung upwardly, they move also inwardly and finally lie in the channels 12. To swing the arms upwardly and into the channels, it is only necessary to press the spring finger or latch inwardly and then lower the rack-post, when the rack-arms will successively strike upon the upper end of the bed-post 5 and will be swung upwardly and will pass with the rackpost into the socket of the bed-post.

Upon the upper end of the post 5 is an annular flange 15, which encircles the rack-post,

.in recesses 14 in the bottoms of the channels and in its upper edge is formed a bayonetslot 16. A cap 17 is rotatably'mounted upon the upper end of the rack-post and has a depending annular flange 17, which fits over the flange 15 and has a lug 18, which projects inwardly therefrom and which is disposed to engage the bayonet-slot 16 of the flange 15 when the rack-post is lowered to its limit. By then rotating the cap the lug is engaged with the bayonet-slot and the rack is held against withdrawal from the bed-post 5.

In addition to the vertically-movable rack above described there is provided a second rack consisting of a base 20, which is slidably fitted in a dovetailed groove 21,'formed transversely in the rear face of the post 8. In the base 20, the outer end of which is of skeleton formation, are openings 23, in each of which is pivoted a garment-hook 24, which is adapted to swing laterally into and out of the concaved front face of the base, the hooks being limited in their pivotal movement in one direction by the stop-walls 27, which hold the hooks at right angles to the base. Springs 29 are provided for the garment-hooks and tend to hold them normally at right angles to the base. When the base is slid laterally of the post 5, these garment-hooks successively strike the post and are swung against the action of their springs, so that they are folded into the base and the latter may be moved until its outer end is flush with the side wall of the post 5. When the base is drawn outwardly, the springs swing the garmenthooks automatically into active position.

In practice modifications of the specific construction shown may be made and any suitable materials and proportions may be used for the Various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is- 1. In abedstead,the combination witha post having a longitudinal socket in its upper end, of a rack-post slidably mounted in the socket and held against rotation therein, a springlatch for holding the rackpost projected from the socket, arms pivoted in the rack-post and adapted to fold upwardly thereinto, and means for holding the rack-post against withdrawal 5 from the first-named post.

2. In abedstead,the combination with a post having a longitudinal socket in its upper end, of a rack-postslidably mounted in the socket and held against rotation therein, means for holding the rack post projected from the socket, said rack post having longitudinal channels in its faces and recesses in the rear faces of the channels at the lower ends thereof, rack-arms pivoted in the lower ends of the channels and having heads disposed to engage the upper walls of the corresponding recesses when the arms are at right angles to the post,

said arms being adapted to fold upwardly into the channels, and means for holding the rackpost against movement from the first-named post.

3. In a bedstead,the combination with a post having a longitudinal socket in its upper end, of a rack-post slidably mounted in the socket, means for holding the rack-post projected from the socket, said rack-post having longitudinal channels in its faces and recesses in the rear walls of the channels at the lower ends thereof, rack-arms pivoted in the lower ends of the channels and having heads disposed to engage the upper walls of the corresponding recesses when the arms are at right angles to the post, said arms being adapted to fold upwardly into the channels, an annular fiange upon the upper end of the bed-post having a bayonet-slot in its upper edge, a cap mounted rotatably upon the upper end of the rack-post, a depending annular flange carried by the cap and disposed to encircle the flange at the upper end of the bed-post, and a lug carried by the depending flange and disposed to engage the bayonet-slot to hold the rackpost against withdrawal from the socket.

1-. An inclosing socket or sheath having a slot in its interior extending longitudinally, and terminating a short distance from its upper end, an interior close-fitting rod or post having one or more transverse slots or recesses in which arms or hooks are pivoted so as to'fold into the recesses and enter the case or sheath; a pin projection near its lower end adapted to enter and move in the longitudinal slot in the sheath, a spring-finger in said rod and adapted to automatically lock the rod in its extended position and a shoulder and ornamental head-piece at the upper end of the rod, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. HARRELL.

Witnesses:

A. K. DAGGETT, JNO. L. BOONE. 

